The Roman Empire
Domitian


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Coin Details

  

Set Details
Coin Description:
Grade: NGC XF Strike: 5/5 Surface: 3/5
Owner: Kohaku
 
Set Category: Ancients
Set Name: The Roman Empire
Slot Name: Domitian
Research: Currently not available

Owner's Description

“She had every aspect except goodness.” With these words, the Roman senator/historian Tacitus summarized Sabina Poppaea (30 – 65 AD). From her father, who rose from humble roots to reach the post of questor, Poppaea inherited ambition. From her mother, considered among the most attractive women of her generation, she inherited beauty. Moreover, Poppaea spent an enormous effort to further enhance her attractiveness, from her elaborate flame-colored coiffure to her milk-bathed toes. She famously employed a myriad of ancient cosmetics, including white chalk to lighten her skin, fucus (a kind of algae) to redden her cheeks, kohl (a mixture of antimony and ash) to enhance her eyelids, depilatory creams to remove body hair, and pumice stones to whiten her teeth. With her formidable combination of attractiveness, intelligence and charm, it is no wonder Poppaea became one of Rome’s most powerful women. At the age of fourteen, Poppaea married the head of Claudius’ Praetorian Guard, the equestrian Rufruius Crispinus. The latter lost his post some years later, and the couple divorced. Next, Poppaea set her sights on Otho, a supporter and friend of Nero, who became Emperor in 54 AD. It is widely speculated that Poppaea married Otho not for love, but to get closer to Nero. Whether or not Poppaea’s intent, she indeed grew closer to Nero, and by 58 AD the pair were lovers. Poppaea also grew closer to officially earning the rank of Rome’s most powerful woman. However, serious obstacles remained, namely (i) her marriage to Otho, (ii) Nero’s disapproving mother, Agrippina Junior, and last, but not least, (iii) Nero’s marriage to his first wife and stepsister, Claudia Octavia. Probably at Poppaea’s urging, Nero dispensed with all three, specifically he (i) coerced Otho to divorce Poppaea, reassigning him abroad to serve as Lusitania’s governor, (ii) had Agrippina murdered, and, last but not least, (iii) divorced his wife Claudia Octavia, sent her into exile, and later had her murdered as well. Many ancient sources claim that Poppaea was at least an accessory to these nefarious deeds. It is even claimed Poppaea gloated when Nero’s henchman presented her with Octavia’s severed head. Duplicitous or not, Poppaea married Nero in 62 AD. To advertise the new imperial couple, coins were issued, such as this tetradrachm struck in Alexandria, Egypt around 64-65 AD. The coin depicts the radiate bust and inscription of Emperor Nero on one side, and the draped bust and inscription of Empress Poppaea on the other. Poppaea’s visage, like her husband’s, conveys imperial determination and confidence. Examining more closely, Poppaea’s appearance on the coin provides some insight into her meticulousness. For example, consider her hair, intricately formed into braids and tied in the back, yet affording a loose tendril to escape and strategically drape down the side of her elegant neck. One can even envision, without too much difficulty, the one hundred female attendants that pampered Empress Poppaea daily. In early 63 AD, Poppaea bore Nero a daughter, Claudia Neronis. The Emperor and all his supporters were ecstatic. After all, she was Nero’s first child, representing the continuation of Augustus' bloodline. To this end, Poppaea proudly shared her rank of Augusta with her newborn. However, the mother-and-daughter co-reign proved brief; the child perished only months later, yet another reminder of ancient Rome’s high infant mortality. An already unstable Nero fell further into his own personal madness, and the imperial couple plunged into dysfunction. According to widely cited ancient sources, the situation became so dreadful that Nero attacked Poppaea during an imperial quarrel in 65 AD. At the time, Poppaea was pregnant once again, although apparently her condition did not deter her husband's ire. Nero kicked his Empress in the stomach, killing her and their unborn child. Nero saw to it that Rome mourned his beloved wife as deeply as he did. He also saw that Rome simultaneously celebrated, reminiscent of Caligula’s extravagancies after his sister Drusilla’s death. Nero refused Poppaea’s cremation, insisting instead on embalmment in Augustus’ mausoleum. An elaborate funeral consumed a year’s supply of fantastically expensive Arabian incense and culminated in Poppaea’s deification. Even two years afterwards, Nero remained obsessed about Poppaea to the point he castrated and married a young boy who bore an uncanny resemblance to his dearly departed wife. Overwhelmingly, history paints a picture of Poppaea as a villainess worthy of her villainous husband. However, this view is based of sources notoriously prone to negative bias against Nero’s regime. Poppaea possibly died of miscarriage, whether or not induced by domestic violence. Moreover, Poppaea’s involvement in the deaths of her predecessor and mother-in-law are uncertain. Thus, Poppaea’s true story may never be revealed, although new findings occasionally come to light. One of recent note was a poem found in Oxyrhynchus, Egypt, recorded on an ancient papyrus. Recently translated, the poem recounts Poppaea’s apotheosis, or journey from life to death and transformation into a goddess. Compared to Tacitus and other ancient sources, the poem presents a very different impression of Poppaea, one of divine piety and familial devotion. Even as she ascends the heavens, she laments leaving her beloved Nero behind, “...I did not burden the throne, my husband, if I protected you.” Additional Reading: “Poppaea Venus and the Ptolemaic Queens: An Alternate Biography,” C. Gillespie, 2014, Histos 8:122-145. Coin Details: EGYPT, Alexandria, Nero, with Poppaea, Tetradrachm (24mm, 12.44 g, 12h), dated RY 11 (AD 64/5), NGC Grade: XF, Strike: 5/5, Surface: 3/5, Obverse: Radiate head of Nero right, ΝΕΡΩ ΛΚΑΥ ΚΑΙΣ ΣΕΒ ΓΕΡ ΑV, Reverse: Draped bust of Poppaea right, ΠOΠΠAIA ΣEBAΣTH, L IA (date) before, References: Köln 168-9; Dattari (Savio) 197-8; K&G 14.85; RPC I 5280; Emmett 128.11.

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